New Britain Herald Newspaper, February 9, 1917, Page 5

NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, 7 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1917. " ANNUAL MEETING OF CITY MISSION . Light Thrown on Work Done in Miss Campbell’s Report The annual meeting of the city mis- sion was held in the chapel of the Methodist church last night with a large number of the members and friends in attendance. The various _ churches united in union services for the occasion. President E. M. Wight- man presided over the meeting. A short business session was held @uring which the reports were pre- sented. The minutes of the last meeting were read and accepted and then Treasurer W. S. Damon pre- ¢ sented his report, which follows: Treasurer’'s Report. Receipts February 3. 1916, cash on thandigat el et te Contributions 23.60 2,596.42 Total sessen 5 $2,618.02 Pisbursements. Balaries Rent aainth e Y . ¥* Melephone, printing, carfare, February hand TUnpaid pledges ....... Officers Elected The nominating committee . pre- scnted the following officers for the ensuing year and the nominees wer2 wunanimously elected: Honory president—E. I. Neumann. President—E. M. Wightman. First vice president—A. N. Lew Second vice president—L. P. Slade. Secretary—C. H. Barnes. : Treasurer—\v. L. Damon. Auditor—A. W. Upson. + Superintendent—Miss C. E. ' Bart- Iett. Missionary—Miss Mary. Brehovsky Executive committee—E. F. Neu- mann, E. M. Wightman, L. P..Slade, C. H. Barnes, F. G. Platt, A. W. Up- son, Rev. L. S. Johnson, George H. Dyson and the pastors of the co-0D- erative churches. Trustee for three years—E. F. Neu- mann. . Finance committee—F. G. Platt W. L. Damon, J. M. Burdick, H. L. Mills, H. S. Walter, Lucius Taylor, E. H. Cooper, B. B. Bassett and H. H. Pease. ' -15.00 o3 Demonstration. In order that the work of the mis- sion might be demonstrated a numna- ber of little tots from the various schools were presqnted and they gave & short entertainment. They sang %ongs and then told of the work that §s being done by the sewing schools. This part of the.program proved. to ®e very interesting and showed con- sofentious . training and study. - ‘Work of Assistants. \ Miss Brehovsky said that many people were under the impression that the workers in the City mission had an easy time ‘but after naming over & number of her experie! there was no doubt left in anyon mind as to real amount of work that is be- ing done by good hard labor. 'She also stated a number of cases where those she visited had their own views on education and according to these self same views book learning did not amount to much. Because she had been in the city but a short time Miss Campbell said that she had very little to tell as she was not really acquainted yet. She does the work among the Italians of the city and she said that upon first coming to the city she was somewhat confused by the lack of signboards on the streets in the outskirts but after a study of the directory she was able to get about without much difficulty. _She does a great deal of work at the 'i%urri(t sewing school -and is also an assistant at the Lafayette school. Both of the assistants at the mission do work at interpreting at various times. The report of the superintendent, Miss Caroline E. Campbell follows: *Jn the Streets and Lanes of the Oity” It was with an invitation that the servants in our Lord’s parable were bidden to go out quickly into :the streets and lanes of the city, to seek out the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind, and assure them of a welcome at the feast; and it is on a similar errand that the workers of this society go forth each day to tell «%0 the dwellers in our streets and by- ways, (most of whom have come here from other shores, expecting to find “a land flowing with milk and honey,” or its equivalent), that we want to share with them the blessings that greater opportunities have brought to us, that we would help them bear the burdens that misfortunes of various S:ds have thrust upon them, and ‘miore than all, that they need not be strangers and foreigners in the king- dom which is not of this world, but fellow-citizens with those who are of the household of God. The record of the visits made by the City Mission workers during the past vear, shows a long list of homes *where need of one kind or another has been found, often through no fault of the families themselves, and where we have sought to be “an arm of ald to the weak, a friend to the friendless.” There are those who are sadly handicapped by their lack of knowledge of the language of our gountry; and although it is no sin not to know the English language, these unfortunate ones who happened to be born in another country are often ASK FOR and GNT HORLICK!S THE ORIGIRAS. MALTED MILK ' e ] o opeh TOU aqme sty | lmade to feel that it would have been better for them not to have been horn at all, so wrathful do those who have dealings with them become when they fail to make them understand. To such as these, what a boon it is to have a friend come into the home who can speak with them in their own tongue wherein they were born; and it is seldom that this does not | pave the way for continued visits of real helpfulne; One of Many Services Rendered. In a rear house two little Italian girls were found one day, washing and cooking, in the brief time after school, for their and works in the factory, and there are the inevitable boarders. They have been in this country but a short time, and speak English with some to sewing school and Sunday school: Quite recently, the older of the two girls, not yet twelve, was found have an infected knee as the result of a fall, and Miss Campbll’s serv- ices as interpreter and her assistance in getting the child into the hospital were gladly wlcomed. Many oppor- tunities have been given us to ren- der servicee similar to this, and oth- ers of like benefit, to the people who look to us for friendship and encour- agement, and although the day’s rec- ord often seems commonplace and like that of many-other days that have preceded it, we still hold it true that “custom cannot stale” the “Infinite variety’ of City Mission work. One day I was led to call on an Ttalian woman whose husband is a boot-black with whom I had become acquainted while he plied his trade in my behalf. He told me that his family had come from Pennsylvania a few months before and gave me the number of his house. I found there an attractive-looking woman, the mother of three little children, who came to this country when a child so that she speaks English well. She could not at first quite understand why I had come; but when at last 1 made it clear that I had come only for a friendly call, her appreciation was pathetic, as she said, “I wish you'd come as often as you can; I'm so lonesome; I don’t know no one here, and I don't go nowhere and I'm so lonesome.” Other calls followed and when sickness came we were able ta send her a visiting nurse, and later she came in touch with the milk station where she received helpful ad- vice in regard to the care of her chil- dren, so that we find her in better spirits than when she felt that she was without friends. A mother whose lit- tle four-year-old boy was killed by an automobile not many months ago and who has- scarcely. been able to bear the sorrow, welcomes the visitor who comes with a heart overflowing with sympathy, and gladly listens to the words of comfort read to her; and her burden is perhaps a little less because the promise of the life be- vond has been brought to her atten- tion. Hearing From the Outside World. A young woman who spends much of her time in a wheel-chair is always glad of a chance to hear,something from the outside world,—glad, too, of the brief Bible reading and prayer which we feel is an important part of a ‘visit here, where attendance at church is impossible. In an Italian home, full to over- flowing of the most ignorant Sicilians, the mother was cooking supper, when I entered; but she turned from the stove to welcome the visitor, and her stolid face lighted up as she told me that she could sing the Itallan hymn which the children learned at Sunday school; so we all sang it together, and then she sang for us, some of the hymns to the Virgin which she had learned as a child; and it-would be indeed faithless to doubt that the Sun- day school leaven is working in that ignorant home. ‘I was fortunate enough to meet the children from another home on the street, for I never should have found my way unaided, under the covered archway to the rear yard where they live. It is on Main street, opposite Lafayette, where the children then at- tended sewing school, and Assunta, who evidently has no fault to find with her surroundings, showed me with pride how she could “look way down past the sewing school” from her vard. I looked, with her, past pool- rooms, saloons, macaroni factories and junk shops, trylng my best to ad- mire her view, which certainly is ex- tensive if not beautiful. The number of visits made by the City Mission ‘Workers during the past year was 2125; and religious papers, printed in Polish, Slovak and Italian, as well as English, have been distributed in the homes, to the number of 970, Variety of Office Calls, The ‘office 1s the scene of a variety of calls and consultations, and we are alwayg glad to know that our people feel that they may come to us when in need of any kind. One frequent vis- itor does not always come for the pur- pose of seeking help, by any means, for she is quite as likely to come to express her gratitude for services ren- dered us for any other reasons. If a visiting nurse has been sent to her, or a Thanksgiving dinner, or if coal has been ordered for her, for which she is permitted to make ‘‘easy payments, as the advertisements say, she is sure to return, like the one leper out of ten, to give thanks so fervently as to make one wish the gift had been twice as much. She and her children came in one Monday evening with money for the coal and stopped to tell me their Christmas plans. The boy and girl had been saving up to buy a Christmas tree, so dear to their Polish hearts, but when they consid- ered that Johnnie had no sweater, it seemed to them more prudent to sup- ply that need, for, as Maggle saild, “Whet's the use of having a Christ- mas tree when you ain’t got no sweat- er?” so prudence won the day and the Christmas tree was relinquished. Wanted a Prince Albert Coat. Some calls are less desirable than others, as 1 thought one day when I was alone in the office and a wild- eved man burst in, looking decidedly out-at-the-elbows and down-at-the- heels, and capable of almost any deed of dalanga and dessnaded | need might be ! contrast mother is a widow , difficulty, but welcomed the invitation | o | Mary clothing. I told him that T had none for distribution, whereupon he said, scornfully “Oh, I .thought this was a mission. I want to buy a Prince Al- bert coat!” and his tone implied that a mission that could not furnish a Prince Albert coat upon demand wasn’t much of a mission. I hastened to suggest several places where his supplied, for I feared that my inability to hand over the desired article might result disastrous- Iy, and at last he turned and disap- proved as suddenly as he came. In to this call may be men- tioned that of two Polish children, who came to.greet me when I re- turned from my vacation, bringing bouquets of wild flowers. “We hadn’t any money to buy flowers.” Mary said, “so we went-‘out and gathered .you some field flowers.””: I.assured her that no “boughten” flowers would have been half so pleasing to me. told me of her attendance at the trade school during the summer, where she learned .to sew, and her brother had been attending the sum- mer school at the First church, and had also had a garden at home for flowers and vegetables. Three Pathetic Calls. One morning, three women followed one after the other, each with a differ- ent kind of trouble, and in all three cases we were powerless to effectually overcome the difficulties in the way. One was a young woman left to sup- port her two childrén, and her trouble Was that there was no place to leave the children while she went to work. At last, a home was found for the baby in the country, and the mother pays three dollars a week for board aut of her small earnings. The provision for Rosie, the other child who is not yet three years old, reminds me of a call made several years ago on a family of goodly praportions where the sleeping accomodations were decidedly limited. As an older sister described to me how various ones were provided for, I in- quired ‘“And where do the boys sleep ?”” “Oh, most anywhere”, was the reply. That is where Rosie stays while her mother is at the-factory; and our hearts ache for her and all the other Rosies and their brothers who, in the absence of a Day Nursery, must stay “‘most anywhere” while their mothers go to work, The second caller that painful meorn- ing came to say that her husband re- fuses to let their little boy about three vears old go to the hospital to have an operation that would enable him to walk. All the arrangements had been made Wwith the specialist, at the re- quest of both parents, and the child was to go that very day, when the father's refusal put an end to all further effort to benefit the child and prevent his growing up in helpless- ness, The third caller was a polish woman who rushed in in great excitement, tearing her hair and biting her fingers and in very broken English tried to make me understand that her ten- vear-old boy had been arrested for theft that morning, and as he was already on probation, she was sure he wauld be sent to the Reform school. T tried to calm her down till Miss Brehovsky could be reached, and then she went with her to the police station where a large part of the day was spent in the midst of an exciting scene. Miss Brehovsky served as In- terpreter, and also as a quieting force to Mrs. D—who went into a frenzy of excitement when her bay received the dreaded sentence to the Reform school. After further consultation with the probation officer, however, it was decided to give him one mare chance, and the mother’'s fears were allayed for the time, and she departed to exercise a severe Vigil over her son’s going out and coming in. The total number of office calls for the year was 341. Sewing School Important. The sewing schools, which are an extremely important part of our work and claim a large share of our at- tention, have already been described; but special mention ‘should also be made of the Bible verses taught there, the principles of right living set forth in story form, and the effort to in- spire a desire for cleanliness and neatness in personal appearance; and when a little girl, addicted to careless attire, much the worse for a pro- longed existence, whose face, hands and hair are usually in direct contrast to the ideal set for them in the oft- repeated sewing schaol formula, one day appears so completely trans- formed in these particulars that we scarcely recognize her, we feel that it is almost as much of an achievement as making ‘‘two blades of grass grow where only one grew before.” Students from the School of Mis- sions in Hartford have been working, as in other years, in the sewing schools and have’ visited in the homes and in the hospital. Some of them have been teachihg English to women who were anxious to learn our language and T will read a few items fram their reports: Mrs. S—is learning English very well. I have been using Pryor and Ryan's “How to Teach FEnglish” with great success. She is very much interested both in the English and in the subject matter.” ‘Mrs. M—is as enthusiastic as ever over her English lessons and is anxious to continue them.” One who was preparing at the School of Missions for work in Japan, wrote me her impressions of the Methodist sewing school. This scho.l, as many of you know, was organized a number of years ago by the former superintendent ahd her assistant and is carried on by the ladies of the Methodist church, assisted by the City Mission workers, and it is gratifying to note this student’s recogmition of the faithful and efficient service rend- ered by our predecessors in the City Misslon and the volunteer workers of the Methodist church. The report reads: “During the four or five weeks when it was'my privilege to teach in the sewing school in New Britain, T found out many things, T was sur- prised and delighted to find so much religious Instruction given in a sew- ing class. I was glad to note that the children seemed to enjoy the relig- ious exercise quite as much the work with their hands. It was a new thing to me to find such a large corps of workers willing to devote as their Saturday afternoons every week Ao pamma st pisiat maopibe bo ihia ans (o) 3 “ pr SARIAY G\\\V\NW/////////" AN REMEMBER—Turkish tobacco s the world’s most famous tobacco for cigarettes. task. The organization of the school was faultless; the machinery maved so smoothly that indeed I did not realize until 1 had been there three weeks that any real records were kept or that the supplies were all handled systematically. The bed making demonstration ought to revolutionize the art in many homes. I have made an entire book illustrating the sewing in all three grades and expect to take it with me to the Mission fleld August. I see no reason why such a sewing school could not be organized in Tokyo in the congested districts quite as well as in New Britain.” These words of appreciation might be spoken with equal truth of the volunteer service rendered with such constant and layal efficiency at the Lafayette school. Addition Help in Summer. During the sumer, we had the ad- ditlonal help of Miss Cagianello, an Italian worker engaged for three months, and Mr. Bissiri, while carry- ing on the Italian work at the South church, kept in constant touch with our organization and was of the great- est assistance in all our summer work. A goodly amount of Fresh Air work was donned during the summer, twelve | outings having been given to 140 women and children, and a few work- ing girls, Two girls were boarded for ten days at the [ Methodist camp ground at Plainville and one young married woman was sent to the coun- try for a week with her two children and vounger sister. I have sometimes heard it stated, when I have been hoping to arouse an interest in this| phase of our work, that New Britain | children do mnot need these outings as do children of more congested citie: nd at such times I think of the B—family, numbering cight, who live in a basement home which they share with an uncle and aunt and their child, and because it is diffiicult to pay thie rent, several hoarders are taken. Even with as many as six rooms, it is somewhat crowded, so that it would seem that an occasional trolley ride into the country would not do this family any harm, and we feel that it might do them some good. Dl peamemaax XOQOTGS from the diaries of the assistants, contain these items: “In the to Lake Compeunce with six mothers and seven little children. The children and some of the mothers had a fine time on the merry-go-round.” On another day—'We took four mothers | and a father to Lake Compounce. They each had a little child with them, We were so happy to see those mothers have a good time and enjoy everything that was going on.” “Mrs, N-—has lived in New Britain fifteeen vears and has ndver been even in Hartford.” At Thanksglving time, through the kindness of friends, we were able to send nine dinners; and several baskets of fruit were sent where a dinner would have been less appropriate; all the widowed, orphaned, deserted, crippled and otherwise unfortunate recipents were unanimous in their gratitude for the good gifts received. Christmas Celebrated, The Christmas season was duly celebrated in the three sewing schoals and the ITtalian Sunday school, and gifts of warm clothing and other use- ful articl were distributed in the homes, with a sprinkling of things less utilitarian, which we felt belonged to the season; we tried to so balance our various kinds of gifts as to satis- fy both our consciences and our hearts. I cannot close the year's record without a special word of appreciation of the volunteer workers, numbering nearly fifty, who form so important a part of the three sewing schools and the Italian service which our people attend. Their names are written in ining letters on the tablets of my heart, and their faith- ful co-operation and loyal service prove thut they belong to what R. Crockett has styled ‘‘the great Soclety of the Encouragers who make the world go raund.” 1t is related that the late Rev. Dr. 2. N. Kirk was once crossing the ocean with a prominent infidel, and early in the voyage the unbeliever came to the minister and said: “T suppose you will be wanting to talk religion to me all the way over; I afternoon we went | wish you would say what vou've got uow, and have it overwith.” ‘In the clergyman's reply is embodied the underlying purpose in all our work and our greatest desire for the Ve ey you; a Saviour; people to whom we go. friend, I have but one ward to sa; I was a lost sinner: I found one in Je want you to find him too.” He said I nex at really remarkable savings. chair or a fine period suite. COMPLETE Home FURNISHERS [E——— #0-8@ ForD pTREET HarTromro This Very Mon is the Time to Make your own home the most cheerful livable home in all the world by coming to this great Febru- ary Sale of Furniture and Home Furnishings where you can carry out the ideas you have planned so long RICE. A profusion of beautiful things needed in every home in a standard of quality demanded by those who will have only the very best—whether ’tis a kitchen | A big opportunity to home lovers—home makers. ¢ Come early while the selections are good. IS HIGHER THAN Assnre ron ' GLENWOOD RANGES | - OVERLOOKING CAPRITOL GROUNDS